--3/22/00

By Marni Pilafian

The George and Naomi Davitian Hall of St. Mary Armenian Church, Cooper City, FL, was dedicated on March 5 by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. More than 220 people attended the church service, which was followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony and blessing of the hall.

The Rev. Fr. Vartan Joulfayan, pastor of St. Mary’s since 1998, also took part in the ceremonies, along with the Very Rev. Fr. Oshagan Gulgulian, pastor of Sts. Vartanantz Church in Chelmsford, MA, and former pastor of Miami’s St. John Church.

Arbo Zakaryan, Master of Ceremonies at the luncheon, stressed the need for volunteerism. "Volunteering at the church can make the difference in building a solid congregation," Zakaryan said. Fr. Joulfayan reminded the congregation that "Ten years ago, if we said we were going to build a church near Hollywood, Florida, no one would have believed it possible. We have opened the doors of this church and hall with new possibilities."

The new 4,800 square-foot church, consecrated in September 1998, is a merger of the former Miami parish (named for St. John the Baptist) and the new St. Mary Church. It sits on five acres of prime real estate in Cooper City, 40 minutes north of Miami and 15 minutes west of Hollywood. The pristine Byzantine architecture offers an aesthetic surprise to visitors in the suburban South Florida neighborhood.

The blessing of the 680 square-foot hall included the ceremonial naming of the rooms for notable figures from the past history of St. John’s and St. Mary’s, with plaques denoting the honored individuals mounted on doorways. The kitchen was named "Gulizar’s Kitchen," after the late Gulizar Nenezian, who ruled over the kitchen and every pot of pilaf at St. John’s for over 40 years. The Sunday School classrooms were named for Audrey Pilafian, who ran the Sunday School over the past 44 years.

The conference room was named after the James Pilafian family. Mr. Pilafian, one of the speakers at the consecration and the only surviving founder of the original Miami church, started the building committee in 1948. Pilafian was the first attorney for St. John’s. He negotiated the purchase of the church in 1951 from a Greek Orthodox community for a mere $8,000 and served as legal advisor for 45 years, volunteering his time. The late attorney Richard Nenezian was instrumental in procuring the present location of the St. Mary church.

"Our present successes are linked by our past. St. Mary’s has evolved from the sale of St. John’s," said Clara Nenezian, another devoted church member, "and its financial and spiritual legacy of supporters. We must remember the yesterdays with humility and pride, and link them to today and tomorrow." Quoting from the U.S. National Archives, she added: "The heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest in the future."

Louise Mahakian, another instrumental volunteer, was proclaimed "mother of the church." For 30 years Louise has served at different times as the parish council president, building committee member, head of the women’s guild, and business manager. "It has been my privilege to serve St. John’s," Mahakian said, "and God willing, we will do the same for St. Mary’s."

The list of volunteers who have given their time and efforts are too numerous to mention. But in the past 25 years, there is one couple that stands out. George and Naomi Davitian, after whom the hall was named, have donated considerable time to running the parish and spearheaded the building commit-tee. As parish council chairman for the past eight years, "Naomi Davitian has led our parish into the new St. Mary’s building," Fr. Joulfayan reflected.

"I knew we would all come together to build St. Mary’s. Through our volunteers, we have replaced the words ‘I can’t’ with ‘I can-—I will--I am going to,’" said Naomi. "We should all feel proud of our new house of God. There is nothing more rewarding than serving God in His house."

Naomi, originally from Lebanon, grew up in the Washington, DC area, and after graduating from college moved to Miami where she met her husband George. Originally from Iran and the oldest of six children, George, an engineer in Iran, came to this country in 1965 speaking no English with only fourteen dollars in his pocket. He settled in New York City, where he attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and quickly learned the garment manufacturing business. He settled in Miami a few years later and started a small business in the garment district. His factory now spans three city blocks and he also operates a sewing factory in Honduras and a dry cleaning business in north Broward County. No matter how busy he was with his business, George donated turkeys for Thanksgiving dinners and spearheaded a drive to collect clothing and supplies after the Armenian earthquake and for the people of Karabagh.

For their tireless work in bringing the Armenian community of South Florida together for the new church, George and Naomi Davitian were awarded the St. Nersess Shnorhali Medal and Encyclical, bestowed by His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. As Fr. Joulfayan presented the medal to the couple, Archbishop Barsamian summed up the important theme of the day by adding, "We must take extraordinary actions in our lives to create extraordinary communities. If we are expecting growth, then we have to be creative to achieve that goal."

When they were asked, "Why do you work so tirelessly for the Church?" George just answered with a knowing smile. Naomi, however, offered the following: "My belief in our community and our Church, our faith in God has given us the energy to do this--a path given from God. Once I started, I wanted to finish--for our two sons and their families, our four grandchildren--to culminate all the work that started at St. John’s 53 years ago. Now more people are coming to the church from all parts of the world. And more are volunteering to help at the church."

"The people are willing to work," said Naomi, "all I have done is given them the go-ahead."